The Chapter 11 reorganization plan filed Thursday by the Colonial Golf & Country Club includes details on how the club would satisfy its creditors if the court were to approve the proposal, but it sheds no light on the future of the property. The 52-page plan filed in federal bankruptcy court calls for the sale of the property to JW Colonial Group LLC, which comprises businessman John Georges and developer Wayne Ducote.

View full sizeBrett Duke, The Times-PicayuneAngelo Solomon prepares to putt on the ninth hole at Colonial Country Club on Jan. 31, the club's last day of operation after 86 years in business.

"Wayne and I are putting up the money and offering a way to satisfy the creditors," Georges said Thursday afternoon.

Should the court approve the plan and the sale, the country club's chief creditor, Louis Lauricella-owned Colonial Finance LLC, would be first on the list for repayment, according to court records.

The country club filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in February, one day before the 88-acre property was to be auctioned off in foreclosure proceedings. Colonial Finance loaned the country club more than $4.5 million in 2007 to pay off its debt. But Lauricella requested repayment after a development venture soured.

The club now owes $7.8 million with added interest, attorney fees and expenses.

JW Colonial's purchase price is $5.1 million in cash, court records said. Colonial Finance would receive a lump payment of $4.5 million, and Georges' group would take on the remaining $3.3 million balance, discharging Colonial Country Club of the debt. The court will divvy up the remainder of the sale proceeds, and if necessary, any other funds in the club's estate, to pay off the remaining creditors.

For now, Georges and Ducote are covering the insurance and the costs of maintaining the massive green space. Georges said he has not decided what will become of the property if the sale is approved.

"I don't have any immediate plans. My immediate plan was to stop a developer from getting the property," he said.

Once the bankruptcy is settled, Georges plans to sit down with city officials and others to see what residents want.